''Do you want to give your product an enhanced aesthetics?" Obviously...and you are not alone....everybody wants their product to be perceive appealing to their customers .... But why they are not able to achieve it? Due to low volume production and less investment cost for their business, they could not go for tooling and ended up with compromising on the appearance and switching to alternative materials and processes.

Have you ever thought? What if there is no need for customized tools to give your low scale product the desired look and feel ...yes, it is possible for a company to provide a beautiful piece of machine without making high investment on tooling.

Importance of an Aesthetic look for a product:

Sometimes, a good functionally sound product is not very well accepted in the market due to its look. Hence, an Aesthetic design is critical for consumer acceptance and the market success of the product.

Low-Volume part production needs are usual in some industries such as Medical equipment, Aerospace, Defence, Instrument,Shipbuilding and also in prototyping of a new product development.

Aesthetics plays a crucial role in the perception of the product which directly associate with the overall satisfaction of a customer and it also substantiate the innovation, quality and reliability of the product. So, from the initial stage of development itself, the product aesthetics should be kept in mind and work towards achieving that.

Using Sheet metal for product development:

Sheet metal is metal formed by an industrial process into thin, flat pieces. It is one of the fundamental forms used in metal working and can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes and thicknesses. (source: Wikipedia)

Because of its characteristic features like pliability, malleability, ductility, temperatures tolerance, collision resistance and long life span, etc., today, sheet metal applications are huge and present in many kinds of industries with a variation in the uses.

But then what is the problem with sheet metal?

When we use plastic, it can be easily molded to give the desired look and feel to the product. But the metal components are not that easy to manufacture. It must go through die-cast, sand cast, or forged, where sheet metal is stamped into complex forms, and this results in a very expensive tooling.

If the sheet metal is needed to be bent it has to go through common die hence, can form only sharp 90º curve bend. To get the desired shape the die tool has to be customized and made which can cost you lakhs for tooling.

So, sometimes to save money from customized tooling, a good part turns into a scrap metal and the machine looks nothing but a box because of only 90º curve bends in it.

And to deal with this problem, Srushty offers the desired curve bend with progressive bending technique to get the ideal curved shape without customizing any tools.

Progressive bending by Srushty

Ways to get an Aesthetic design:

In prototyping, the innovative products are made by mostly focussing only on the functionality, but not in the look and feel. The reason is the cost involved in providing an aesthetic look by tooling is too high and unfeasible for low-volume production.

But in Srushty, this legacy belief has been broken by making an aesthetically pleasing product with sheet metals by using the methods such as Hydraulic pressing, 3D acrylics, print acrylics, metal powder coating, bending without customized tooling, CNC router, Laser cutting etc., to bring the same aesthetic as it is done for the mass production.

"From a sheet of metal to an ornamental looking machine without spending on tooling"

CNC router:

It is a computer-controlled cutting machine related to the hand held router used for cutting various hard materials. A CNC router is very similar in concept to a CNC milling machine. Instead of routing by hand, tool paths are controlled via computer numerical control which enable the machine to function. CNC routers reduce waste and increase productivity, producing various items in a much shorter amount of time than using other machines.

A CNC router can reduce frequency of errors, and the time for taking the finished product to market.

Laser Cutting:

Laser Cutting gives a high-quality surface finish. It is used to cut complex shape with perfect finish and even for a smallest cut this process is very precise and uses less energy. Also avoids the need for a Blanking tool which is otherwise necessary for sheet metal fabricated parts.

Hydraulic Pressing:

It is a device which uses a hydraulic cylinder to generate a compressible force. Hydraulic presses are commonly used for forging, clinching, molding, blanking, punching, deep drawing, and metal forming operations. (Source: Wikipedia)

Acrylic print:

Acrylic print used directly for metal finish to give high gloss and color retention. Acrylic print is very durable and ideal for the materials which cannot be heated. It provides a wider range of colors options, and result into a very light and thin finish.

Metal powder coating:

To give the aesthetic look to the product, it is powder coated at the end of part development in which a coating is applied electrostatically to a surface as a free-floating dry powder after which heat is used to melt the powder and completes the coating process. The coating is thick and more durable than spray paint and gives an even finish to the product.

Some of the successful and beautiful products manufactured by Srushty.

Rahasiya:

In this vending machine, not only the purpose of the machine has been achieved but also the aesthetic look which is given by vinyl stickers, acrylic fixture and powder coating to give the machine a beautiful ornamental look.

Spin coater:

This machine is engineered with beautifully curved edges with powder coating to give it an adorn look and feel with the mechanism to perform its desired functions.

IHL:

This Machine is very aesthetically pleasing and capable of performing several medical diagnostic tests. The bend curves of sheet metal are sublimely finished by progressive bending and with the methods such as CNC laser cutting, powder coating and silk screen printing, etc., it results in an elegant piece of work.

In Srushty, we give the best engineering solutions without compromising on the aesthetics of the machine, in spite of low volume requirement for the product.

Last February I visited China with two missions, one to visit a large factory to establish collaboration to build our client’s Healthcare Kiosk, with the engineering design improvements that Srushty was working on. Second to source a cost-effective Sheet Metal Laser Cutting machine, to complement our CNC Laser Bending Machine.

My visit to the Chinese factory was inspiring, they are literally the sole supplier of all type of kiosks of China’s domestic needs. They almost cover all the global needs with very sophisticated infrastructure with vast amount of expertise and experienced technical staff.

Next, I was at the vendor site of the low-cost sheet metal laser cutting machine that we were sourcing, to inspect the machine that would be delivered to Srushty shortly. It was comparatively far less sophisticated and about 10% less than the cost of the average machine, I saw at the large Chinese manufacturer.

I felt our infra is like a sand dust in the Himalayan foot hill, when I compared the infra at the large Chinese manufacturer to ours. It had more than 50 high end machines and other matching infrastructure

My mind went viral with mirage of confused thoughts and questions.

Why India is far behind China when it comes to manufacturing?!

Why we lack focus in building products of best quality in India?

What makes these Chinese manufacturers produce such wonderful high-quality products?

What Infra difference India lacks to make similar success in product manufacturing?

Can we, personally, Can I achieve similar fete with the minuscule infra that I have at Srushty?

What is the real, I am mean the real core difference, to "Make in India", a reality?

The only meaningful answer that I could get in my mind was “THE INTENT”, we just need the intent.

The burning desire in my mind soon become a very focused INTENT to achieve here in India what I saw in China.

Now, less than 12 months from my visit, thanks to Satyender Goel, CEO, India Health Link Pvt Ltd, deciding to fuel my INTENT with his commitment to this Make in India Dream, we now have our First Made in India unit, shipped out of our facility :-)

The Hardware Design Team, which meticulously re-engineered the Mechanical and Electrical aspect of the product to meet DFM requirement based on the capability of Srushty’s Manufacturing Infrastructure.

The Manufacturing Team, which put their heart and soul to ensure we meet high quality and finish, second to none, with the minuscule manufacturing infrastructure with which we started this dream.

The Software Team, which had been working for long and hard to bring the Software Architecture redeployed to Indian needs, and migrating to Indian Servers and Indian User Experience needs

The Management and Administration Team which worked tirelessly to meet every day demands from souring to all infra and resource challenges.

The extended Srushty-IHL team which brings the spirit behind the success of this great milestone.

The last but not the least, the confidence and the reassurance, that a real INTENT can help stride against the odds, the team Srushty is now ready to promise to our customers that we can help you Make in India.

The 2 full day intensive workshop covered GD&T concepts in practitioner’s perspective. The workshop was anchored by Maruthachala Mandiram, Director, Srushty Global Solutions.

The course covered right from basics of Tolerance, and to Why, What and How of GD&T Techniques. Thanks to enthusiastic 40 odd participants from SMR Automotive, the training included real life project examples and study of GD&T usage in them.

The training covered the theoretical aspects, as well as Design Intent, Manufacturing Impact, Part Inspection and Qualification aspects.

The mechanical, electrical-electronics, firmware, first level user application developed right from concept, engineering, prototyping, testing and transfer to manufacturing by Srushty Global as one-stop-shop

Concept to Commercial Launch – The Path Travelled

CPC had identified the problem area through a detailed study in IVD industry. On the process of study, CPC found around 46-68.2% of laboratory errors occur in the pre-analytical phase. CPC determined to introduce a product to the market for addressing these errors. CPC chose Srushty as their extended R&D arm and did a detailed market study to identify the challenges in the existing Pre-analytical process. Based on the market study, both Srushty and CPC arrived at the required and mandatory product specification.

Srushty had taken the responsibility of mechanical, electronics and firmware design & first level of software design for converting this inventive idea to a real product. With a clinical and meticulous approach, Srushty moved ahead in faster pace and developed the first demo product within three months’ time. The demo product was compact and occupied small foot print area and successfully addressed the core functionality of the product. With the success of demo product, Srushty aggressively progressed with design and development and successfully released the product with all required technical specification and features.

The ATL-60

The Automatic Tube Labeller, to be used at Phlebotomy Station in IVD industry

Flexibility to adapt pre-existing and varied Workflow

Automatic Auxiliary printing for labelling urine and other type of samples

Facility of easy interface with LIS / HMS

About CPC Diagnostics Pvt. Ltd

CPC diagnostic is engaging in manufacture, marketing, distribution and servicing of medical and diagnostic equipment.

About Srushty Global Solutions Pvt. Ltd

Srushty is engaging in engineering consultancy, product innovation, design and development with primary focuses on providing innovative and cost effective solution.

About Medicall, Chennai

Medicall is organized by Medexpert Business Consultants Pvt. Ltd and is India’s premier hospital needs and equipment exposition and the biggest of its kind in India. Medicall brings the latest, appropriate and affordable technologies, for the benefit of all hospitals including smaller hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and physicians setting up group practice.

About Times of India Medicall Innovation Award

Medicall in collaboration with “Times of India” gives innovation awards to recognize, showcase and encourage innovation in the field of Healthcare. In 2014, Around 150 applicants applied for innovation award and 11 were shortlisted for final to present their innovation.